Neighborhood Profile: BREWERYTOWN
History: Brewerytown is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia. An unofficial region, Brewerytown got its name because of the numerous breweries that were located along the Schuylkill during the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is now primarily a residential neighborhood, with an active commercial sector along Girard Avenue. Despite struggling with poverty in recent decades, Brewerytown has […]
Neighborhood Profile: FITLER SQUARE
History: Fitler Square is named after Edwin H. Fitler, a well-regarded 19th century mayor of Philadelphia. The Square was dedicated to his memory shortly after his death in 1896. From the city’s earliest history, the Fitler Square neighborhood was a shipping, shipbuilding and brick-making center that became home to some of the city’s most prominent […]
Neighborhood Profile: UNIVERSITY CITY
History: University City is a name for the easternmost region of West Philadelphia. The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name University City as part of a 1950s urban-renewal effort. Today, Drexel University and The University of The Sciences in Philadelphia also call University City home. The eastern […]
Neighborhood Profile: PLYMOUTH MEETING
History: The township was originally settled by members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, who worshipped in the Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse. They sailed from Devonshire, England, on the ship Desire, arriving in Philadelphia on June 23, 1686. The township takes its name from the settlers’ hometown of Plymouth in Devon. What is now Germantown Pike was ordered […]
Neighborhood Profile: FISHTOWN
History: Fishtown is a neighborhood in Philadelphia located immediately northeast of Center City. The name “Fishtown” is derived from the area’s former role as the center of the shad fishing industry on the Delaware River. The name comes from the fact that a number of 18th and early 19th centuries German and German-American families bought up the […]
Neighborhood Profile: BALA CYNWYD
History: Bala Cynwyd is a community in Lower Merion Township which is located on the Main Line in southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at US Route 1. It was originally two separate towns, Bala and Cynwyd, but is commonly treated as a single community. Bala Cynwyd lies in the Welsh Tract of Pennsylvania and was settled in the […]
Neighborhood Profile: SOUTH PHILADELPHIA
History: South Philadelphia began as a satellite town of Philadelphia, with small townships such as Moyamensing and Southwark. During the Industrial Revolution, the area saw rapid growth, in part due to mass immigration from Ireland. Its urbanized border reached that of Philadelphia. Along with all other jurisdictions in the county, South Philadelphia became part of the City […]
Neighborhood Profile: FAIRMOUNT
History: The name “Fairmount” itself derives from the prominent hill on which the Philadelphia Museum of Art now sits, and where William Penn originally intended to build his own manor house. Later, the name was applied to the street originally called Hickory Lane that runs from the foot of Fairmount hill through the heart of the neighborhood. […]
Neighborhood Profile: GERMANTOWN
History: The Germantown area of Philadelphia is one of Philadelphia’s oldest settlements. It was originally settled by Mennonite and Quaker German speaking émigrés from Holland, Germany and Switzerland attracted to Philadelphia by William Penn’s promises of religious tolerance. When Philadelphia was occupied by the British during the American Revolutionary War, several units were housed in […]
Neighborhood Profile: SOCIETY HILL
History: The district is named after the 18th century Free Society of Traders, which had its offices at Front Street on the hill above Dock Creek. Located close to both the Delaware River and Philadelphia’s civic buildings, including Independence Hall, the neighborhood soon became one of the city’s most populous areas. Several market halls, taverns and churches […]
